What's the minimum amount of land?

Area, climate, cost, taxes, and the property itself all would dictate the size. For us, here in the PNW, we wanted enough land to meet our criteria. We have just under 7 acres, but there is no pond, creek, wetland, or easements. In addition, we own our mineral rights. Our property is mixed topography, which is what we wanted. Just under 5 acres is forested in 2nd growth Evergreens, Alders, and 100+ year old Maples. As far as a self-sustaining woodlot, we have plenty. To insure we do, DH never hesitates to haul away any fallen trees offered. Our neighbor, above us, has given us permission to cut down any/all of their trees which may be leaning over the two driveways (our drive is U-shaped). The property above ours has access easements on three sides of their property. Our property is in forest on all sides/edges and that affords privacy (we cannot see our neighbors).

On our cleared property, we have (23) fruit trees (including one Walnut), a fenced raised bed garden area of 3,000 sq ft, a little greenhouse, two cabins (10 X 20 each, one is 1.5 story garden cabin w/covered porch), a fenced chicken area w/chicken house, our home, a shop, and a 2-car carport. We have 3/4 of an acre which can be partitioned into paddock areas (rotational grazing) for mini goats & also pigs. That area will need to be fenced. I sell plants/seeds & we are producing most of our food ourselves (additionally hunting, fishing, crabbing, shrimping, clamming, harvesting oysters, and picking wild mushrooms...). There is an area set aside for DH's water feature (he has plans to put in one).

Since we are doing everything we want on our size of property, we don't need more!

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Christie Acres
www.SequimForLife.com
http://www.irealtyvirtualbrokers.com...lori-christie/
http://luxurywaterviewhomes.com/
SequimLiving@gmail.com

What we sell is pastured pork weekly and timber intermittently. This makes good use of our available resources.

In order to produce the pastured pork. We don't buy in feed. The primary component of their diet is pasture followed by dairy, mostly whey we get from a local cheese maker. We grow a lot of pumpkins, squash, sunchokes, sunflowers, beets, etc. We also get some spent barley from a local brew pub and crushed apple pulp from a local cider mill, etc (see http://SugarMtnFarm.com/pigs).

We also have a lot of laying hens who scavenge their own food in the warm months and eat meat in the winter. Their primary job is to eat insects, break up the manure patties and smooth the soil. Their secondary job is to produce eggs which we cook (doubles the available protein) for the smaller pigs.

If we were producing on fewer acres, which we have done, we would produce less. We currently have around 400 pigs on about 70 acres. That area is big enough for more plus sheep and cattle. If I was on a postage stamp of just a few acres I would look to things that would maximize the return like garlic, etc in a small patch. A lot of it depends on soils, climate, slopes, etc. We have steep mountain slopes with shallow, gravel soils. Great pasture but not machine tillable or harvestable. Livestock harvest the food themselves so pasturing works here.

We have acreage beyond what we use for the livestock and crops - that is mostly timber for producing lumber, cabinet wood, firewood and biomass/pulp. On fewer acres we would obviously do less of that.

Not all land is useable for livestock, crops or timber. We have about 70 acres of marshes. If you're buying a small parcel then you would want to be picky about things like that.

Make sure you have water and no onerous regulations/zoning. Small parcels tend to mean higher population densities which tend to mean a lot of "You Can't Do That Here" rules.

Vertical integration is important. Rather than trying to produce more one can work at getting more value out of the thing. For example, we're building our own USDA/State inspected meat processing facility (butcher shop+) on our farm so that the 50% of every pig we pay for processing will stay in our hands as well as saving the long weekly trucking trip. A penny saved is 1.36¢ earned to rephrase Benjamin Franklin.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Short answer; no, I do not own horses.

Longer answer; besides being a housewife, I volunteer at a non-profit, caring for 21 horses varying in size from little ponies to large draft horses. They range in training from backyard ponies to loggers, to retired police horses. I know how it feels to pick paddocks in freezing rain, or 90F degree weather, and I know I can cope with it. And despite being a "girly girl" on the outside, I can haul hay bales just as good as any guy. I in fact find it oddly Zen to do barn chores.

Most of my horsey friends own horses in the six-figure price range, offer clinics internationally, do training, breeding, and compete internationally. By comparison, I'm a beginner with very low aspirations, and not ashamed to admit it.

Thankfully, I have a really good private riding instructor, who has been using me for the past 3 months to help rehab a mare recovering from a chronic lameness problem. I get to improve my balance on a horse that competed in eventing nationally, and the horse gets to work out with one rider and one trainer in stead of being stuck in a rotation with changing riders as a lesson horse. It starts looking like I might get to lease her for independent training work, if her foot heals up during the summer, which would be great, since I really like that mare. After a few months of riding only one horse, you do get attached to them, despite knowing in your mind, that you would never buy a chronically lame horse.

In essence, I'm well aware of the expenses that come from health issues, such as colic, founder/laminitis, and various "trouble" a curious horse can get itself into. If I ever attain what I want to do when I grow up, I'll have my farrier certifications before I own my own horses, so hopefully shoeing other people's horses will cover any expenses from running a business and having a couple of mounts.

I am stunned at the rediculously cheap prices of land in the mid west! We have 3 acres and a modest 1960's home and we paid $275k, and it was a foreclosure that needed lots of work!

We are trying to sell our place and move to a minimum of 5acres but preferably 10. Even for a run down shack it's going to set us back $300k plus! If there weren't tornadoes I might be joining ya'all in the Midwest!

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http://silvercreek-farm.blogspot.com
Livin' the good life

A lot of "grown ups" seem to have the same foolish notion.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

It sounds from your description like we're in the same neck of the woods, and in the same boat with us on the buying a property part. However, we're still renting. We're currently at a budget of "under $300k". Hearing about five figure sums for homesteads in the midwest does cause me to feel like I'd want to move east, even if it's just Eastern WA. But my husband's income depends on Microsoft, so we're stuck where we are.

Once you do find a dream home candidate (I've seen five reasonable ones that check off most of our must-haves in the past nearly 3 years), people just pile up on it. We almost scrounged up the cash for a downpayment on time to bid on a short sale, but that shy 5 acre property with pasture and outbuildings, and space for gardens and orchards already cleared (and a 2 bedroom barely livable fixer) sold one paycheck before we had enough to make an offer. It sold for about $20k more than we could have afforded, so we would never have won a bidding war. Disheartening, but at the same time, we're not giving up. We're still saving money, and the next one won't get away!

150 acres of forest here, with river frontage and 2400 sq ft home, for $100k.

I built the farmhouse myself. It is new.

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http://www.mofga.org/

http://www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmAp...2/Default.aspx

Location, location, location.

And the politics is different here, too. You'll find the mindset in the Heartland is different from that of the two coasts.

No matter where you live, there are natural disasters. On the west coast, there's the threat of earthquake and tsunami. Oh, and fires. Sure, there are tornadoes here, but There's no such thing as a "safe" place. Can't live out your life in a bomb shelter.

Life is good, and life is dangerous. And (in the words of the late Rich Mullins), "If you live your life real good, you're gonna get beat up real bad."

Here's to getting to Heaven loaded with "medals" of a life well-lived!

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Well maybe, but you can avoid areas that are drought-prone, or that have earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

Though I would also add to avoid urban, go 'rural' [meaning 10 people or less per sq mile].

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http://www.mofga.org/

http://www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmAp...2/Default.aspx

No fires over here, it doesn't stop raining until mid June most years and starts right back up in Sept/Oct. Everything is green and lush. Very pretty but really expensive.

Penny V it's too bad you can't move up here to Bellingham. The prices are better then near Renton/Bellevue areas.

I would love to move back to the east coast but I don't think my hubs would want to go.

Pony between the tornadoes and the ridiculous summer heat you guys get I don't think I could do it. But it sure is tempting! I'll come visit instead

Maine sounds wonderful!

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http://silvercreek-farm.blogspot.com
Livin' the good life

wihtout the cows I would say a minimum would be about 2 acres, you can do it on one but I would suggest two..with the cow add an acre or two..but you might even be able to do a cow on 2 if you have a good source of feed..also, if you are up against some federal or government land you might be able to do less as well, as you could browse the edges...carefully.

I agree on the idea of doing the fruit trees (and perennial vines and bushes) first.

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

You're as welcome as the flowers in May, any time you're in the area!

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Oh! Just thought of this.

In his book, "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It," John Seymour has details on how to organize a small-holding on 2, 5, 10+ acres. If you can get hold of a copy, I think it would be most helpful.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

We had 10 acres in Oklahoma. It was a lot of mowing! I had chickens, turkeys, alpacas, goats, occasional boarding horses, big garden, and I would over- winter a pig in my garden then process him in the spring.

Now I have almost three and it is still plenty... The thing to consider always is read your zoning laws first before you buy, know your property taxes, notice neighbors, neighbors, neighbors.

Go slow, and add..

Location, location, location!

Good luck, it is a great goal!

Bellevue does have some good shopping options, though... The biggest natural disaster that frequents our rainy area, is the flooding. Heck, all the cheaper land I find seems to be well-rooted in the "100 year floodplain" in the Snoqualmie River Valley and along its tributaries. We have friends who have been stuck at home, because all their bridges were underwater. Eep.

If it were just up to me, and not my sweet husband, I would probably want to move to one of the coastal towns northwest of Seattle. Because of the ridiculousness of commutes (highways + ferries + freeways = hours in traffic), despite their proximity to Seattle, there are a lot of 10+ acre properties with a small old farmhouse and some outbuildings, that are affordable, and outside any imminent risk of flooding. With the way those properties are laid out, it'd probably be possible to start with 10 acres, and buy up the neighbor's property when they change generations, and so on.

I don't mind little quaint fishing towns, as I'm the kind of girl who was taught by grandpa how to fish with both newer methods, and ancient methods I've only seen my grandpa still use, anywhere. With a permit and even a small boat, odds are, I'd be stocking up our freezer from the sea before we'd get a harvest out of the garden.